I was wondering when you'd show up! <3
<3
Fountain Pen Questions for Experts: does the con-70 fit in a Metropolitan? Are there any other cheapie pens with compatible and attractive nibs I should swoop down on for it?
Con-70 does not fit in the Metropolitan. It is a much larger converter than the Con-20 and Con-50, and will only work in Pilot's larger pens, like the Metal Falcon or Custom 74. There was a report online that it could fit in the
Pilot Kakuno, but I never looked into how reliable of a fit it had.
On cheaper pens - Pilot's Metropolitan is really in a league of its own in terms of bang for your buck. $17 for a gorgeous, all-metal body, steady nib and converter? You won't find many other companies with an offering like that. The next ring of entry-level pens clock in around $30-$50, with choices like the
Pilot Prera,
Lamy Safari/
Al-Star, and
TWSBI's many offerings. The Pilot Prera has the exact same nib and feed system as the Metropolitan, so you're really paying extra for the 'demonstrator' transparent body. They're still nice writing instruments, but it's up to you to decide if the premium is worth it. On the upside, this also means you can swap nibs between the Prera, Metropolitan and
Plumix if you want! Our very own InfiniteNine is swapping her Metro's nib with a Plumix nib
as we speak. EDIT: She beat me to it!
Unfortunately, nibs and feeds aren't as interchangable as one might hope for. But, there's still a nice selection of beginner pens from other companies which could serve as a nice sibling pen to your Metro.
I'm not a fan of Lamy's designs, but I know both Bagels and my pal Nappuccino are fans and can speak for their quality. They do require a converter to be purchased alongside the pen, but the additional cost is fairly negligible. One benefit of the Safari/Al-Star is the tri-grip, which forces the writer to use a grip more beneficial for fountain pen writing, but this could be problematic if you'd rather use an alternative grip.
TWSBI is a brand celebrated for their willingness to take risks and challenge their competitor's price points, while being chastised for their horrible QA and build issues. I still recommend them as their pens are a great introduction to the piston filling mechanism, which draws ink up into the body of the pen, rather than relying on a converter. For busybodies who need to write a lot with little interruption, these types of pens are a huge blessing. The 580 can hold almost double the capacity of a fully saturated Con-20! TWSBI also provides users with a small tool to help them tear down the entire pen, which isn't always necessary, but is really nice when you want to perform maintenance. As mentioned before though, TWSBI pens aren't the most solidly constructed pens of the lot, though they have gotten much better with the Classic, Vac 700 and the Diamond AL series. From experience, I can say that my TWSBI Mini has gone on many adventures and taken a few unexpected beatings and still writes just as well as it did once I had the nib adjusted. But reports crop up frequently of cracked barrels and grips. Best advice I can give is to watch out for over-tightening the threaded parts, which puts a lot of pressure on the structure of the pen and may be the source of many cracks.
While I'm on the topic of questionable quality practices, there is one brand you'll see mentioned that must always come with a large 'Caveat Emptor' written in the nicest script you fancy -
Jinhao. Their pens are extremely cheap, come in a large variety of bodies, colors and styles, and are often suggested to newcomers who don't want to invest too much in their first pens. Yes, they do have as many models as your heart could desire. Several Chinese manufacturers will imitate bodies from more famous pens from other countries, Jinhao included. The reason why I'm throwing this Rouge Hematite colored warning here is that these pens are as untrustworthy as a weird elf granting you the ability to turn thread into gold in exchange for your first born. There's almost no quality control for these pens, and many users have gotten them shipped to them in states that are nearly unusable without extensive fixes that a new user wouldn't know much about. My opinion is to stay away, but if you're feeling adventurous, $8 isn't so bad, I suppose?
